The high-paying job skills that can help you grow your earnings

Regardless of where you are in your career, chances are you want to continue improving your earning potential. But how can you do that? An effective way to increase your potential earnings is to find out what employers want from a high-performance employee and then work to become that person. Some traits of a high earner are universal, and some professions pay more than others. Keep reading to learn about high-demand soft and hard skills.

High-paying soft skills that can boost your career

Skills are either job-specific or universally valuable. The former are hard skills, while the latter are soft skills. While you can improve your earnings by getting better at what you currently do, working on your soft skills can open many doors at your current workplace and elsewhere. Having strong soft skills can also be beneficial if you decide to change careers, as their interpersonal nature can help you effectively collaborate with a wide variety of people.

Some soft skills that can improve your earnings and workplace performance are:

Sales

Sales skills can be job-specific, but these abilities are valuable even to people who don’t directly sell goods or services for a living. You sell your personality and job aptitudes daily to your coworkers, supervisors, and customers, whether you realize it or not. You also sell yourself when uploading a resume on a job website. Everyone wants to believe others judge them objectively based on their skills and achievements. However, most people only notice your qualities with a little nudge. You sometimes need to showcase them, and sales skills help you do that.

Data analysis

Data analysis combines soft skills such as analytical thinking and innovation. Many companies value data analysis because it allows for unique insights that can benefit an organization. Companies rely on data to make business decisions, and developing this unique skill can help you participate in business decision meetings. Supporting a company’s decision-making process can also assist you when it’s time for promotions or raises, especially if the decisions you contributed to benefit the company.

Project management

Like sales, you don’t just need strong project management skills if you’re a project manager. Many highly paid roles involve planning complex projects, listing their tasks, assigning people to complete them, and tracking overall progress. Even setting up an office party requires project management abilities. Successfully coordinating people, resources, and tasks is likely to help you ascend to a high-paying position.

People management

People management is more than just a human resources skill. It’s crucial in managing a team, fostering client relationships, and collaborating with leadership teams. You can emphasize your people management abilities with simple tasks, such as crafting an effective employee schedule, or more leadership-focused tasks, such as hosting workplace training sessions. Pursuing opportunities to show decision-makers this skill can help you when that supervisory or managerial role becomes available.

“While you can improve your earnings by getting better at what you currently do, working on your soft skills can open many doors at your current workplace and elsewhere.”

High-paying hard skills to learn for a career change

While improving your soft skills can help you on your current career path, sometimes a radical change can dramatically improve your income. These are some hard skills that can lead to highly lucrative careers:

Digital marketing

Almost all businesses need a strong online presence to keep up, regardless of their field. Digital marketing skills are generally a mix of traditional marketing skills and the ability to use them online. Knowing how to promote a brand’s goods or services through emails, social media posts, blogs, and other forms of online mass communication can lead to a lucrative career.

Software development

Software development is becoming increasingly prevalent in the tech industry boom, and demand for competencies in this area is likely to continue to increase. Companies have become more reliant on technology to bolster their production processes and business capabilities, making employees with software development and programming skills highly sought after. With the added benefit of being able to learn this skill through online settings, you can increase your knowledge surrounding coding and software development in your own time.

Content creation

Content creation can involve various creation activities, such as content writing and graphic design, which focus on creating content that readers or viewers want to explore. This skill set requires research, marketing analysis, social perception, and creative abilities. It can help you transition to marketing, public relations, and advertising roles. Moreover, if you refine your management skills alongside content creation, you can aim for higher-level management positions that mesh these talents.

Financial planning

Financial planning skills are useful regardless of whether you’re in a finance or accounting role. Supervisors and managers often assist in managing company or department budgets and can sometimes be responsible for creating these budgets. Financial planning abilities can help you decide between project quotes or material prices, which can significantly impact the company. Showing your current and potential employers this skill can support you when negotiating your salary or pay increase.

Whether you’re looking to improve your earnings in your current profession or start a new career, knowing which skills to improve is a major benefit. Regardless of where you are in your career, improving your in-demand skills is likely to lead to professional and financial success.

More tips on high-paying job skills

If you’re job searching, incorporating stand-out skills in your resume can show an employer how you can benefit the company.

Developing that high-income paycheck requires key salary negotiation skills to ensure you get the most for your high-paying skills and experience.

Read this guide to explore more soft and hard skills you can develop.